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Auction Number 146 ­- AUCTION Closing Date: Friday, 29 May, 2015

Regarding AUCTION #146 (Closing Date: Friday, 29 May, 2015), The Minimum Bid ("MB") is a guide which has been set in accordance with current market value, determined through constant monitoring of auction sales during recent years. In cases of extreme rarity, the actual realized price may far exceed the Minimum Bid, while in other cases an item may realize a price very close to the Minimum Bid, and, occasionally, the Minimum Bid itself. Please simply bid in accordance with whatever a given item means to you. If a bidder wins more than originally anticipated, we are most pleased to make any mutually comfortable arrangement for payment terms. Please inquire.

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“It is difficult to realise that Ackté's sensational début at Covent Garden was as Salome in Richard Strauss' opera. Here she sings…with grace and excellent coloratura technique, and although she was Finnish, the style is typically French, and with immaculate diction.

“Agustarello Affre held his own with Escalaïs, de Reszke, Van Dyck, Alvarez, Saléza, Scaramberg, Muratore and Franz in a career that lasted two decades. Affre made his début at the Paris Opéra in 1890 as Edgardo in Lucia with Nellie Melba. At the Opéra, he created rôles in operas by Massenet and Saint-Saëns and also sang Canio and Belmonte for the first time. Affre never sang at the Opéra-Comique, but during his career he made guest appearances in Lyon, Marseille, Brussels, London, New Orleans, Havana and San Francisco.”

“Though her first names included Charlotte and Marie, she was known on stage as Pauline Agussol. She graduated from the Paris Conservatory and was recruited by the Paris Opéra. Her début was as Urbain in LES HUGUENOTS on 19 September 1888. That season also saw her as Stéphano in the first Paris Opéra performance of Gounod’s ROMÉO ET JULIETTE (28 November) with Adelina Patti, the de Reszké brothers, Léon Melchissédec and Jean-François Delmas. Agussol soon added Siébel in FAUST and she continued to perform these roles throughout her 20-year Paris Opéra career. Among other creations and first performances, Agussol sang Ascagne in the Paris Opéra’s staging of Berlioz’s PRISE DE TROIE in 1899. Her final season at the Paris Opéra was 1907. She recorded for G&T, beginning in 1901. She also recorded for Zonophone, Odéon, Favorite and APGA, [the latter] of which she was one of the founding members.”

- Vincent Giroud, Marston Program Notes

“Among those ‘minor’ companies that flourished in France before the end of the first decade, there is one that stands out above all the others for its originality of organization and its technical excellence. A.P.G.A. (L’Association Phonique des Grands Artistes) was founded in May, 1906…with a group of ten artists: Agustarello Affre, Charlotte Agussol, André Gresse, Jean Noté, Alice Verlet, Henri Weber, Bergeret, Dranem, Mayol & Polin….The records were uniform in size: 27cm. or about 10½ inches….All A.P.G.A. records play at an average speed of 86 r.p.m., and I know of many that go well over 90. These extraordinary speeds might have accounted for the lack of sales….However, when pitched properly, these records are astoundingly good – I might venture to say better than any other needle-cut record of the period.”

“Alvarez sang Nicias in the world premiere of Massenet’s THAÏS on 20 June,1894, and in 1895 sang in the world premiere of Augusta Holmès’ LA MONTAGNE NOIRE. Two years later appeared as Walther von Stolzing in the Paris premiere of DIE MEISTERSINGER. In 1897 he performed in the world premiere of Bruneau’s MESSIDOR, and in 1901 the world premiere of Xavier Leroux’s ASTARTE. He was well-aquainted with Jules Massenet and the then-known composer Isidore de Lara, and almost every year he guested frequently from 1893 to 1903 at Covent Garden. Here he sang on the 20 June 1894 the role of Araquil in the world premiere of the Massenet’s LA NAVARRAISSE. In the 1899-1903 seasons he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (début as Roméo in Gounod’s ROMÉO ET JULIETTE.”

"Stracciari made records to which one says at different times 'Fair', 'Good', 'Splendid', 'Excellent'. But there is also the cry of 'Great', and in my experience only one of the baritones now under discussion provokes that. This is Pasquale Amato."

“In 1900, Anselmi made his début in Genoa, singing Rodolfo, the Duke and Edgardo (to Fanny Toresella’s Lucia). That same year he appeared at the San Carlo in Naples, where he sang with Angelica Pandolfini and Rina Giachetti (the sister of Caruso’s mistress) in LE MASCHERE, a new work by Mascagni. Anselmi made his London début at Covent Garden (1901) as the Duke in Rigoletto (with Suzanne Adams as Gilda). He returned to London on several occasions, but was especially admired in St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Milan (La Scala), Warsaw and Madrid in a variety of rôles that included Cavaradossi, Loris in FEDORA, Maurizio in ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, Osaka in IRIS, Lensky, Edgardo, Nadir in PESCATORI DI PERLE and many others. He sang Almalviva to Adelina Patti’s Rosina in her last ever operatic appearance….he possessed [a] lovely voice and was very musically intelligent. The records speak for themselves so far as Anselmi’s vocal powers and musical intelligence are concerned. After listening to only a few, one senses that his sole concern in their making was the artistic presentation of the music he sang, as opposed to the glorification of his own voice. There are trills delivered with a coloratura skill that must have been the envy of many a soprano, and high Cs enough to satisfy the multitudes who base their evaluation of a tenor’s talents on this one magical note. Anselmi proves why he is so highly regarded to this day by collectors of fine historical recordings.”

“Aumonier entered the Paris Conservatory as a pupil of Léon Melchissédec. Most of his career was spent on the stages of provincial theaters including Monte Carlo, Lausanne, Brussels, Algiers, Nice, and Rouen. He appeared with van Dyck, Albers, Demougeot, and Caruso. Aumonier took part in the premiere of Edouard Trémisot’s PYRAME ET THISBÉ (Monte Carlo, 1904), Mazellier’s GRAZIELLA (Andréa, Theatre des Arts in Rouen, 1913), and Trémisot’s STAMBOUL (Mehmed Pacha, Algiers Opera, 1924). He also sang at the Paris Opéra in SAMSON ET DALILA, SALAMMBÔ, AÏDA, ROMÉO ET JULIETTE, AND RIGOLETTO. Aumonier, who recorded extensively for all of the French record labels, possessed one of the most beautiful basso profondo voices of his time.

“Franco de Gregorio began his career in italian provincial theaters where he sang during the first decade of the 20th century. In 1908 he appeared at the Teatro Nazionale in Rome as Edgardo in Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. In the next year, he performed at the Teatro Rossi in Pisa as Fra Diavolo in Auber’s opera of the same name. In 1911 De Gregorio guested during a season at the Italian opera in Holland. From 1915 to 1920 he traveled with smaller opera troups throughout North America. In 1919 he sang with the San Carlo Opera Company in New York as Turiddu with Rosa Ponselle in Mascagni’s CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA.”

“After 1902, when Barker (Baker) sang at a St James Hall Ballad Concert in London, he became known as a baritone of rare musicianship. In 1905, along with Mary Garden, Nellie Melba, and Giovanni Zenatello, he sang at Windsor Castle at a state concert in honour of the King of Greece. He toured the USA in 1908 and, with Albani, the British Isles in 1909, and was described as Great Britain's greatest baritone. Barker emigrated to the USA in 1913 and moved to Canada in 1914 as the first organist-choirmaster at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto. The critic of The World described his singing after a Toronto recital with Healey Willan at the piano, 1 Dec., 1915: 'His voice is fine in timbre, his presentation sincere and unaffected, and his technical attack precise and accurate'. He was conductor of the CBC programs 'Vesper Hour' and 'Eventide' from 1939 until 1956.”

“Maria Barrientos was one of the most eminent sopranos of her time. She was not only a fabulous singer but also a beautiful woman. She made a valuable set of recordings for Fonotopia and Columbia. Her voice is of almost instrumental limpidity….an extraordinary legato similar to the sound of a Stradivari violin.”

“Belhomme studied at the Paris Conservatory winning second prizes for singing and for opéra-comique. He made his début at the Opéra-Comique on 11 November 1879 in Félicien David’s LALLA-ROUCK (Baskir). At the Opéra-Comique, Belhomme sang in the world premieres of Offenbach’s LES CONTES D’HOFMANN (Crespel) and Charpentier’s LOUISE (the minor role of ‘le vieux Bohême’). He also participated in lesser-known world premieres by Paladilhe, Lecocq, Pierné, Rousseau, and others. In addition to being a member of the Opéra-Comique, Belhomme sang with the opera houses in Lyons, Marseilles, Brussels, Monte Carlo, and Nice. Belhomme was known to be a fine actor and was a favorite with the public. He recorded a large group of cylinders and discs for Pathé and a lesser number of sides for G&T and Odéon.

“In 1886 Bispham went to Italy where he studied with Vannuccini in Florence and Francesco Lamperti in Milan; later he studied in London with Shakespeare and Randegger. He made his operatic début as Longueville in Messager’s LA BASOCHE (English Opera House, London,3 Nov., 1891), in which his comic acting ability, as well as his singing, won praise. He made his first appearance in serious opera as Kurwenal in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (Drury Lane, 25 June, 1892). He was particularly effective in the Wagnerian baritone roles and made his American début with the Metropolitan Opera as Beckmesser (18 Nov., 1896), and was on the Metropolitan roster 1896-97, 1898-99, and 1900-03. His autobiography, A QUAKER SINGER’S RECOLLECTIONS, was published in 1920, New York.”

“This is a very important disc as Bobková, who was one of the leading sopranos in Prague, was also the creator of the Water Nymph (RUSALKA). The voice is of lovely quality and it is very well recorded for the time.”